He is the highest-ranking Vatican official in recent years to face criminal charges involving accusations of sexual offenses. In a statement this morning, the cardinal rejected the allegations as “relentless character assassination.”

The case will test the credibility of Francis’ initiatives to foster greater accountability after the abuse scandals that have shaken the church.

In the News

• Street names changed. Statues taken down. Actors fired. Kurds in Turkey say their culture is being suffocated by the government crackdown. [The New York Times]

• In Serbia, Ana Brnabic defiantly faced down opponents in a speech at the Parliament, which is set to approve her as the country’s first female, and first openly gay, prime minister. [The New York Times]

• Saudi Arabia’s recently deposed crown prince is said to have been placed under house arrest. [The New York Times]

• British prosecutors charged six people in the deaths of 96 soccer fans at the Hillsborough stadium in Sheffield, England, in 1989. [The New York Times]

• A bungee jumpinstructor in Spain could face criminal charges over a fatal misunderstanding in 2015. A Dutch teenager jumped to her death after mistaking his command of “no jump” for “now jump.” [The New York Times]

• Our London bureau chief writes that the deadly Grenfell Tower fire has intensified a debate over whether deregulation has gone too far. [The New York Times]

• In Greece, trash has been piling up on the streets for days as a heat wave looms. Garbage collectors have called for a wider strike today over austerity measures. [Reuters Video]

• An environmental crisis in the making: A million plastic bottles are bought every minute. [The Guardian]

• A tale of courage: A British police officer describes trying to single-handedly thwart last month’s terrorist attack with his baton. [BBC]